Parking vehicles in dense urban areas is challenging. Physical space for parking spots is limited, and the demand for parking typically exceeds available parking capacity. Finding available parking often requires an individual driver to search an urban area for available parking, contributing to traffic congestion and waste. Accordingly, parking in urban areas can be expensive and time-consuming. Additionally, parking lots tend to use physical space inefficiently. Only a small proportion of the surface area in a typical parking lot is covered by parking spots; the rest is dedicated to drive lanes and other maneuvering spaces. Some parking lots may be “hyperpacked.” That is, vehicles may be parked more densely than in traditional parking lots, for example by parking vehicles in deep rows without access to drive lanes, stacking vehicles vertically, or otherwise arranging the vehicles. However, even hyperpacked lots require significant space to access the vehicles, and additionally require parking attendants to move vehicles as required.
Modern vehicles may include many types of advanced drive capabilities. Those capabilities allow the vehicle to perform movements without direct control of the operator. For example, some vehicles include some kind of parking assist, which allows the vehicle to control acceleration, brake, and steering inputs required to move the vehicle into a nearby parking spot. Some vehicles include smart cruise control or active collision warning and avoidance systems that may detect nearby obstructions and/or initiate evasive actions. Indeed, some vehicles include full self-driving capabilities. In addition to advanced drive capabilities, modern vehicles include increasing amounts of available computing resources as well as communication connectivity.